Semistiff walled toilet case



Patented July 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEMISTIFF WALLED TOILET CASE Application December 16, 1948, Serial No. 65,688

The present invention relates to a toilet case of the type commonly used while traveling. Such toilet cases should be light, easy to handle, and small in size in comparison to its storage space. Under these conditions, it is desirable to eliminate handles which protrude and practically all hardware except that necessary for the utility of the case. Cases of this type are commonly rectangular in shape and provide space for combs, brushes, shaving equipment, etc.

The present invention is an improvement over toilet bags used for the same purpose in that the case is more flexible and not as rigid in shape and therefore can be fitted more readily in'a suitcase. At the same time, the toilet bag of the present invention can be fully opened so that the side and end walls may be placed in substantially straight up and down positions, thereby permitting the entire inside of the bag to be inspected so that it is easy to find any articles which may be in the bag.

The present invention is also an improvement over the prior art in that it is not provided with rigid end sections so that the extent to which the case is expanded or collapsed depends upon how much is put into it. Unlike most toilet bags which are made rigid by stiffening elements like cardboard or other like materials of a somewhat non-restoring character after deformation, compressing the bag of the present invention will not permanently distort its shape nor break any; of the internal end walls. With regard to the side walls of the bag of the present invention, the only stiff unbendable side wall is at the very bottom of the bag and extends upwards only to the extent that the bag is commonly filled with various articles. These small stiiT side walls actually define the minimum size assumed by the bag and since the bag is usually filled to its minimum volume, there is little likelihood of deformation of the bag as a whole.

Without further describing the merits and advantages of the present invention, the invention will be described in connection with the drawings annexed hereto, in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the bag in a closed position, parts being broken away. Figure 2 shows a longitudinal middle section of the bag in an open position on the line 22 of Figure 3. Figure 3 shows an end view of Figure 2, parts of the bag being broken away and shown in section in an open position, and Figure 4 shows a cross section through the bag in closed position.

In the figures, I indicates a bottom of the bag which comprises a stiffening sheet 2 of fiber,

1 Claim. (Cl. ISO-18) cardboard, or the like, covered by leather 4 or other finished surface material. On the inside of the bag there is a second stiffening sheet 3 of cardboard or other stiffening material. Between these two sheets, end edges of side walls 6 and I, and of end walls 8 and 9, are inserted; and the whole bottom is stitched around its periphery by stitching as indicated at Ill, II, I2, and I3. By means of this stitching, both the covering sheets for the bottom of the bag and the side walls are all held tightly together. The side and end walls are preferably formed in two pieces, each piece comprising a complete side wall and a half of each end wall so that the sides and ends of the bag are completed by stitching the two sheets along the middle of the end wall on a line mar cated at I4. In this way, there is no seam at the corners but the entire seam is contained in the end walls. This end seam, as will be noted, is formed by stitching the edges of the two halves of the material forming the side and end walls in abutting rather than an overlapping position with the raw edges of the material facing inward which in itself provides a stiffening edge for the ends of the bag. Since the inside of the bag is usually lined as indicated at 5, this edge will not show.

The side walls of the bag are also provided with a series of stiffening elements each independent of the other. At the lower section of the side walls extending from the very bottom are the stifiening elements I5 and I6, the lower ends of which abut against the ends of the inside stiffener 3 at the bottom of the bag. No stiffening elements are provided at the ends. However, the

corners may have stifiening supports as indicated at I! and I8, these pieces being fiat continuations of the sides and serve to hold upright the lower side wall stiffening, elements I5 and I6. The stiffening elements I5 and I6 are cemented to the leather or fabric wall covering 6, I, 8, and 9, rather than held by stitching. The side walls also have two narrower stiffening sheets I9 and 20. The stiffening sheet I9 extends longitudinally and on an axis parallel with a longitudinal axis of the stiffening sheet I5, is cemented to the side walls 6 and I, and is positioned just sufficiently away from the edge of the sheet I5 so as to permit a full hinging effect of the flexible covering 6 and I.

The material for the bag which has been previously mentioned may be not only leather and fabric, but also imitation leather and plastics, but should in all cases provide reasonable flexibility so that the walls may hinge between the Sections where no stiffening elements exist. The longitudinal stifiening strip 29 extends the entire length of the bag and is substantially the same width as that of the strip l9. The space between l9 and .20 is comparatively wider than that between 15 and I9 to allow a more complete fold in the side walls and to provide also added space for upward expansion of the bag. The upper sections of the walls 8 and 7 which form the top of the bag may also be provided with a liner such as indicated at 2|, but this liner should. permit bending and provide only a heavier and less flexible wall at the top of the bag in order togive the bag more body and resistance in this'region,

thereby helping to hold the form of the bag but permitting the top flaps or closure sectins22 and 23 to be flexed to a considerable degree during handling and closing. The upper elements 2| line the top side sections of the bag from a line parallel and adjacent to the side edge of the strips 2e to the closure element. Thisliner continues along end portions of the closure slide fasteners 29, 36 as shown at 24 to provide a similar heavier wall along the edge, but the rest of the end walls are free and flexible. Each liner end portion 24, it will be noted, is curved along its lower edge so that it first parallels the slide fastener and then arches to the width of the section 2 I.

At the top margin of the side and end wall sections on either side of the opening, are U-shaped bars 25 and 25 which are suitably covered by leather or fabric material 2? and 28 of the same or different color and texture as that of the rest of the material of the covers. These covered bars are stitched to the top opening periphery of the bag and each form, when the bag is opened, one side, and a half of each end, of the opening. These U-shaped bars which are commonly used in cases of the present type retain the bag fully open in one position, while in their closed position bend the tops of the side walls over the rest of the side walls as the ends of the U-shaped bars are directed downward at the ends of the case when the case is closed. Strips 3| and 32 are finishing strips under the slide fastener tapes.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the case in. its closed position. In such a closed position, the upper section of the end walls collapseor slope inward to provide a closure for the top of the case, but when the bag is fairly full, this section will project outward to an extent necessary to allow the top wall of the bag to be raised. Thus the bags shape depends upon the volume of the bags contents and can vary so as to permit a considerable variation in the bags capacity. When the peripheral edge of the bag in any usual manner.

When the bag is closed the fastener extends from below the top at one end, thence over the central sectionof the top and thence below the top at the other end.

While in the present invention the embodiment shown is built up with only one stiff lower section, this may be varied within the scope of the invention.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

A toilet case of the type described having a formed base comprising a covered external stiffening wall faced with a coextensive internal stiffening wall, flexible side and end walls united along a symmetrical center line in the end Walls and having lower margins secured between said external and internal walls, and said side and end walls allbeing stitched together by through stitching, said side walls having longitudinal stiffening sections abutting said base and fixed in relation thereto, each of said side walls having other longitudinal stifiening sections parallel to a longitudinal axis of said first stiffening section and pivotally connected therewith by sections of said flexible side walls, a top section of said flexible side wall having a flexible liner with an edge parallel to but spaced from, the topmost stiffening section of said side wall, said liner extending over the inside of the end walls in an upwardly arched section parallel to the top end edge of the bag, a pair of U-shaped bars lining the top edge of the side walls and end walls and being positioned symmetrically with the longitudinal center line of the case, and separable fastener means extending along the end of the side and end walls in said symmetrical position for closing the bag.

BEREL A. ARNOLD. EMIL KARL BENZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,927,165 Freedman Sept. 19, 1933 2,123,454 Doppelt July 12, 1938 

